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Letter ReferenceOlive Schreiner: Anna Purcell MSC 26/2.9.6
ArchiveNational Library of South Africa, Special Collections, Cape Town
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter DateDecember 1914
Address FromKensington Palace Mansions, De Vere Gardens, Kensington, London
Address To
Who ToAnna Purcell nee Cambier Faure
Other Versions
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to the National Library of South Africa (NLSA), Cape Town, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Special Collections. The month and year have been written on this letter in an unknown hand.
1 Address c/o Standard Bank
2 10 Clements Lane
3 Lombard St
4 London
5
6 Anna dear,
7
8 I hope your are all having a happy Xmas. My love to you all. I am
9still a Kensington Ma Palace Mansions, de Vere Gardens, but am trying
10to get rooms at Hampstead, somewhere where I could get food I can eat,
11& I'm freer. You were quite right about the terrible food in London
12boarding houses! You see I nearly always lived in my old little rooms
13when I was in London before, & then one can live very cheaply & very
14well. I've not tasted a decent mouth full of food since I left the
15Continent. Of course there is no possibility of getting to Italy or
16Switzerland for so I am staying on here for the winter. We are having
17a strangely dark foggie rainy winter, the papers say the rain fall is
18than it has been in London for many years. I hardly ever see any one I
19live alone in this little room. Of course I am quite out of the
20fashion now - no one wants to have anything to do with me, except my
21beloved faithful beautiful Adela, & oh Anna I know you will be sorry
22to hear, she has consumption. Her right lung is infected No one is to
23be allowed to see her for two months except her husband. She is being
24moved up to Hampstead for clearer air. Oh she has been like an angel
25to me: The one thing in all my illness I have to cling to. She came
26twice a week to see me while she could. I feel very helpless about my
27dear angel. Her little Olive has grown into such a lovely child. The
28other two are ordinary nice children. My fear is that Olive will
29inherit her mother's constitution. The only person I have seen in the
30last two weeks except doctors is Dolly Radford, a beautiful little
31woman who writes poems. We were friends as girls 25 years ago. No war
32or blood shed changes her dear loving heart.
33
34 Give my love to your mother & Joy, & the children & your husband, to
35your sister Frances if you write to her. I'm sure she & I would have
36become great friends if I could have seen more of her.
37
38 How is dear Lucy Molteno's health? Please unreadable I seem to have no
39news of any of you. You will all be will all be very glad Beyers is
40dead & de Wet & the others prisoners. I hear the British are going to
41call a war ship after Botha, which is very right.
42
43 Good bye dear. Don't quite forget me
44 Olive
45
46 There is practically no woman's movement here any more nor any
47interest in any thing but the war. I've not seen Ursula or Oliver for
48two months.
49